It Started With A Clock
Time almost came to a halt for 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed Monday morning when he went to school with a clock he had made on his own within 20 minutes and was subsequently arrested. A Muslim living in Irving, Texas with an aspiration to become an engineer, he was ecstatic to show the clock off to his teacher. He was proud of it. But his teacher thought it was a threat against her, and immediately alerted the Principal.
According to CNN, Ahmed told reporters a couple days later that "it was really sad that she took the wrong impression of it." It left him confused and upset. He was escorted away from the school in handcuffs. "They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb," he said, shortly after his release on Wednesday. No charges had been made.
Soon, the hashtag (#IStandWithAhmed) started to trend all over Twitter as the world voiced their frustrations over the treatment of the boy who never even received an apology from Police or the high school. President Obama, among other big names, showed his support towards Ahmed and invited him to the White House. The White House holds an anuual Astronomy Night for scientists, and Ahmed had confirmed that he would be in attendance.
This all goes back to the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. Ahmed's father said that his son had never been in trouble, and that all he wants is to be an inventor. He went on to mention that this was a case of Islamophobia. "My son's name is Mohamed -- people just think Muslims are terrorists but we are peaceful, we are not that way," he added.
Ahmed had also been suspended for three days, and doesn't plan on returning to the school. He and his siblings are to be homeschooled. However, he is still yet to get back his clock from the Irving Police Department, which was being held for investigation, and his family has since hired two attorneys.
Ahmed appeared on "Good Morning America" Thursday morning to talk about his recent ordeal. He is not discouraged by the incident and will continue to invent, for it is his passion. "That clock was a part of my future," he said.
He is excited for what the future could bring, and it all started with a clock.
